Justice News

Federal Judge Sentences Former Teacher to Five Years in Prison for Receiving Child Pornography

BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a former high school teacher to five years in prison for receiving child pornography in connection with an improper relationship he had with a teenage student he met at the school, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Roger C. Stanton.

U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced ROBERT LELAND GRANT JR., 26, of Warrior, on one count of receiving child pornography between March 2013 and November 2013 while Grant was a teacher at John Carroll High School. The judge ordered Grant to remain on supervised release for life after completing his prison sentence.

Grant pleaded guilty to the child pornography charge in April. He admitted that he had an improper relationship with a 17-year-old student that involved sexual contact and sexually explicit videos and images swapped via text message.

Grant “abused his position as a teacher to prey on and sexually exploit his students and received child pornography,” the government said in its sentencing memorandum. The 17-year-old student was not the only student Grant victimized, according to the memorandum, which states that he admitted improper relationships with two other students in 2013 and 2014.

The FBI and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Hutzell prosecuted.